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Re: Your personal vegan story

My mother brought me up to always love and respect animals. My father had similar attitudes and also brought me up to love nature and the environment. Still, everday I was given meat and never truely told were meat came from. When I was 8 years old the foot and mouth crisis hit the UK, and the news was full of video clips of cows being slaughtered and sheep being rounded up to be killed and set on fire. Then I realised were meat came from. I remember I gathered all my stuffed toy animals together because I was scared someone was going to come and slaughter them At the point I stopped eating meat, with no support what so ever from my seemingly 'animal loving' parents. In fact my family gave me the whole 'you wont get enough nutrients and you'll be ill'. So I was on and off with being vegetarian as I had to eat what my mother brought for me. As I got older she did start to be supportive of vegetarianism and even stopped eating meat herself. I never knew what a vegan was untill I was 13 years old, I read about it online and decided I wanted to try it. My first attempt was not sucsesful, and I kept going in and out of vegan. I then went back to vegetarian as I didn't research veganism enough and didn't plan my meals very well so I had a very crappy vegan diet. A year later, I randomly went onto the vegan society website and saw they did a vegan pledge that offered support and information to help you. I decided to do the pledge for the longest amount of time (30 days). Now I was well prepared I sailed through being vegan and found it really easy. About a week into the pledge I decided I was not going to ever look back, and I was going to live as cruelty free as posible from that point on. I thought it could be tricky as I am a regional level competitive Rhythmic Gymnast, but actually my sport preformance has increased greatly now I am vegan and I'm physically much better than before
Here I am, still doing as I promised myself I feel a much greater sense of connection to the Earth and all it's life! Through being Vegan I have also found Paganism, which has changed the way I live my entire life. I would never look back

"Life is life – whether in a cat, or dog or man. The idea of difference is a human conception for man’s own advantage."

Re: Your personal vegan story

I went vegetarian when I was 14, inspired by a great teacher at my school. We were talking one day and for whatever reason she mentioned that she didn't use Parker pens because they were (at the time) made by Gillette. On asking her why she told me about their R&D policy and so I began avoiding their products too and then gradually started boycotting more and more and became veggie about 6 months later.

A few years later when I was 18 I went through my cupboard in the student house I lived in and binned everything that had an animal product in it and declared myself vegan! That was 8 years ago!

Re: Your personal vegan story

I have spent my entire live determinedly avoiding all information about animal abuses and slaughter, leaving the room or covering my eyes and ears if it came on tv. Then a few months ago, there was an item on the news about pigs and how they're treated, and I refused to watch it, and my mum (a pescetarian) told me "you can't just pretend it isn't happening!". I went and holed up in my room, then later that night looked up the news item and watched it on my laptop. From then I decided that I would become pescetarian, like my mum, and that would be enough. This lasted about 2 weeks, then, while snooping on this forum as a guest, saw mention of a video called "Meet Your Meat". I went and watched it, cried a lot and nearly threw up, and became vegan from then on. It really amuses me how I started out thinking that pescetarian would be enough, and now I'm a strict vegan!!
It's now been 3 wonderful months

Re: Your personal vegan story

Ok, my first post here

I am vegan for 1,5 year now and I absolutely love it. I've been vegetarian for all my life (raised in a vegetarian family), and slowly we started changing our habits- some of my closer siblings went vegan which led me to start thinking about going one as well. So right now in our family, my mother is the only one vegetarian left. But she's eating almost only vegan food, since well, there are more of us, hehe. I am thinking about trying raw veganism for a week or so, to see the difference in my body and mind, I'm thinking now in summer, since the weather is hot and all. Anyway, my story as a vegan is pretty boring. <.<

Re: Your personal vegan story

I became a pescetarian when I was 13, mostly (unfortunately) due to a desire to loose weight. Before that, I'd eaten chicken and turkey as well as seafood, milk, and eggs, but I hadn't eaten red meat since I was younger--maybe 9 or 10. My mom didn't, and still doesn't, eat red meat, and though she never forced the lifestyle on me, it felt like a more natural and convenient way to go, since we never really had red meat in the house. Pescetarianism was really easy for me, but after a couple of years I began to think about what exactly I was eating. It no longer felt right to eat the flesh of any living thing, so I slowly began cutting out seafood as well. By the winter of my junior year in high school (this past January), I was fully vegetarian. It was July when I began seriously considering veganism, after reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. Though the book says little about egg and dairy production, it got me thinking, and I realized I didn't feel right about ingesting any animal products or using anything that caused the harm of an animal. My 1-month "veganversary" was last weekend, and I can think of few decisions in my life that have impacted me as positively as this one. I am enjoying the learning process immensely.

Re: Your personal vegan story

Welcome to the board Maddy! Great to hear that you're feeling so positive about your decision to go vegan. Don't listen to anyone who says that it restricts your choices - I have found that it has opened so many doors to amazing new worlds! Enjoy!

Re: Your personal vegan story

Re: Your personal vegan story

I was an omnivore up until early 2009. I moved out of home and decided that I was going to stop eating so much meat and try to just eat fish. So I pretty much a pescatarian up until 3 months ago.
I've always loved animals and wanted to become vegetarian, but living with a controlling/abusive father made it pretty hard. Anyway, I was set on staying pescatarian because I thought it would be way too hard for me to be vegetarian/vegan... until 3 months ago i was bored and googling veganism.. looked at the PETA website.. watched 'Meet Your Meat' and decided this is enough, I felt sick to my stomach and I haven't been able to touch any meat or fish since then. I have to admit, I have slipped up a couple of times and had some dairy products, maybe 2 or 3 times. I'm not going to beat myself up about it though. I'll get stricter with myself in time. I'm really proud of myself to have made it to 3 months anyway, I feel like such a better person now
So jah, that's it.

Re: Your personal vegan story

My story goes like this...

When I was 13 years old (Now 24) I decided I did not want to eat meat any more after years of my elder sister telling me horror stories of how they put crushed bones in to sweets etc so I became a veggie...
But I was young at the time and open to temptation so I soon faulterd and went back to eating chicken, though I never was a fan of red meat or fish just chicken anyway after anoter few years I decided once again to go go veggie and once again it did not stick I was an 'on and off' veggie for about 3-4 years until I turned 20 when I thought to myself enough is enough stop eating these poor animals and 'helping' the 'killing trade' so I decided to become a dedicated veggie and have not touched meat 'that I know of' for 4 years and last week I decided to become vegan!
To which my huuby is not to pleased as we find it hard enough to eat out as it is as not only was I veggie but I also have a lot of allergies and now being vegan it throws yet another spanner in to the works!

Re: Your personal vegan story

I became vegan overnight. I'm a philosophy student, so invariably I eventually came around to the ethical question: is it wrong to eat meat?

It didn't take much research for me to decide the answer. I'm an ethical nihilist, that is, I do not believe there are any objective ethical truths. There's no fundamental right or wrong. But I do think that a consequentialist system of ethics, close to utilitarianism wherein we attempt to minimize suffering, is our best shot at progress as a human race (a bit of a circular argument there, but we can't do ethics without some emotional appeal... the is/ought problem stands). Arguments for why that principle should be exclusive to humans are questionable at best. Hence, we ought not to cause needless suffering to animals. We need not consume their meat or any animal products to survive. Whence, we ought not to consume animal products.

That's the gist of a longer paper I wrote, and unlike most philosophers I know, I was actually compelled to act on my conclusion. One day I was enjoying the taste of crisp bacon. The next day I was whole-heartedly against the idea of ever consuming another animal product.

Re: Your personal vegan story

Rachael-Louise

To which my huuby is not to pleased as we find it hard enough to eat out as it is as not only was I veggie but I also have a lot of allergies and now being vegan it throws yet another spanner in to the works!

I'm sure your husband will come round to the idea and be very supportive. When you love someone, you support them and the choices they make.

Re: Your personal vegan story

As I sit here stuffing a few too many bites of vegan pancakes into my mouth, I'm thinking about my rats. They died several years ago, but I still remember the disdainful tone of the people who referred to them as "things". I spent thousands of dollars on their veterinary care. I carefully dosed one with narcotics every four hours when she was in pain towards the end of her life. I made up a potty song for them. They shot up the walls of their cage like two little monkeys every time I entered the room. They shot up my pant legs just to hop into my arms. They even cuddled me when I was sick. "Things" don't form emotional attachments.

Isis was independent and mischievious. Raisa lived to cuddle and mostly did what she was told. Sometimes when Isis would try to sneak away to explore where she wasn't allowed, Raisa would pounce on her and a squabble would ensue. Tell me these aren't self-aware creature capable of creative interaction. If rats can have separate personalities, surely they have some sense of self. That is not a quality of a "thing".

Rats make the most horrible sound on Earth when they're in pain. Let's just say it's between a loud squeal and a loud squawk and will split your ear drums. They obviously have nerves and a sense of pain, which again, a "thing" doesn't have.

What is the difference between rats and the animals we typically eat? Not much. A rat is about as smart as a dog, which is smarter than a chicken, or a cow, or a sheep, but do we deny mentally disabled people their right to life and to some base level of quality of life just because we're smarter than them? Usually not, and the people that do are generally painted as monsters.

I can no longer accept the killing and degrading circumstances of other animals any more than I could ignore those conditions foisted upon my rats, so I sit here and eat my lovely pancakes with canola oil instead of butter and extra baking powder instead of eggs.

This is copied from my blog, but it basically sums it up, so I thought I'd use it. It took me three years to fully conceptualize that abstaining from meat was the only logical outcome of loving my rats.

Re: Your personal vegan story

cailean

I became vegan overnight. I'm a philosophy student, so invariably I eventually came around to the ethical question: is it wrong to eat meat?

It didn't take much research for me to decide the answer. I'm an ethical nihilist, that is, I do not believe there are any objective ethical truths. There's no fundamental right or wrong. But I do think that a consequentialist system of ethics, close to utilitarianism wherein we attempt to minimize suffering, is our best shot at progress as a human race (a bit of a circular argument there, but we can't do ethics without some emotional appeal... the is/ought problem stands). Arguments for why that principle should be exclusive to humans are questionable at best. Hence, we ought not to cause needless suffering to animals. We need not consume their meat or any animal products to survive. Whence, we ought not to consume animal products.

That's the gist of a longer paper I wrote, and unlike most philosophers I know, I was actually compelled to act on my conclusion. One day I was enjoying the taste of crisp bacon. The next day I was whole-heartedly against the idea of ever consuming another animal product.

That actually makes quite a bit of sense. Good for you for going through with it. I hope you did well on your paper.

Re: Your personal vegan story

So I used to LOVE eating meat. I even used to say that I could never be vegetarian (oh, and forget vegan, I mean how can anyone live without cream and butter???). Although somewhere deep inside I felt there is something wrong with eating other beings. This feeling goes way back to my childhood and seeing animals on my grandfather's farm and then just knowing, as only a child can know, instinctively that it is wrong to eat them and use them. But I pushed that away, buried that down as a silly thought. Then as a young adult I attempted to stop eating meat, twice I think. But it just didn't work. I never did any proper research to find new kinds of food, so it was mostly trying to replace the center of a Polish dinner- big chunk of meat with sth else. Well, not a right approach. So, lots of "cheat meals", lots of dairy products and then, eventually back to eating meat.
Around five yrs ago together with my husband we've decided to cut our meat and dairy consumption, mainly for environmental reasons. If we bought meat or dairy it was organic. It went on like this OK until our daughter was born last year. I read two books "The politics of breastfeeding" and "The Baby Bond" which wrote in detail about effects of milk and dairy products on human health. I decided my daughter will not eat dairy, not until she is weaned from breast (so around 2-3 yr of age). Which is damn hard, 'cause health professionals and parents in this country (we live in Finland) literally PRAY to dairy. With introducing solids we decided to go with Baby-led weaning approach. So inevitably, I had to start looking for vegan recipes and bought two vegan cookbooks last spring. Loved it. Every single dish i made I just loved, but I wasn't thinking about going vegan. Just eating healthy and still some meat, every once in a while. It was only after my daughter started being enthusiastic about animals- cows, horses, our dog, that I thought... "damn, how can i EVER tell her that this cow is what we eat?". I mean, kids are such innocent beings, so in tune with what is right and what is wrong... I realized that moment that if I feel bad about telling her where meat comes from there must be something bad about it. The same evening I did some quick research on the net, came across "Earthlings" and this was it. That was three months ago, so not a very long time, but I just cannot imagine going back.

Re: Your personal vegan story

I can imagine the pressure your family will be under but you sound determined; good for you!

I met lots of Finnish while living in Beijing who were vegan, so I know there is support out there for you. Meeting other families is comforting. Back in London I didn't meet other baby/mamas but all the health care providers were familiar with vegans and gave us no trouble.

Re: Your personal vegan story

@ rainbow- my husband is not vegan. he eats vegan at home and also cooks vegan. at work he usually chooses vegetarian option (there's usually nothing vegan) etc, but sometimes he just has the urge and has to eat meat/ dairy. fine by me, I'm not gonna preach guess he will eventually stop, especially after little one starts asking difficult questions
@ pat sommer- i will have to look around and try to meet other vegan families, always helps to know you are not the only one and exchange experiences

Re: Your personal vegan story

Hi everybody, this is my first post so *waves*

I might be stupid but I couldn't see and introduction thread so I guess this a good place to start.

Anyway, here is my vegan story...

I was born to a Vegan mum and a Vegetarian dad (who is now a vegan as well), I was raised vegetarian until I was thirteen when I decided I wanted to go vegan like my mum. It was easy for me really as my mum knew all the nutritional information to give me a helping hand. I was pretty much a vegan anyway as my mum cooked mainly vegan food and only every now and the would she put dairy in my food. All my clothes and soap were already vegan so the transition was very easy for me.

I know I had it lucky as we had supportive family who used to make sure that they would eat veggie or vegan food when we went to visit and would always check the ingredients to make sure it was okay for us to eat.

Unfortunately my friends weren't the same, nor were my teachers or doctors. When I was a baby my doctor wanted to send me for tests even though I was more healthy than any of the other children in my area and continued to be through school. My teachers would always try and make me eat meat at lunch times (and would also blame my dyslexia on my diet, can you believe that?!). They would even write letters to my mum to tell her that I needed more nutrition in which my mum would respond that I hardly ever got colds or flu and a list of what nutrients I ate everyday. She was never a 'preachy vegan' but if someone got at her about it she'd give it right back.

I can't pretend that non of this affected me but after years of questions and comments like 'what do you eat?' , 'no wonder you're so skinny' and 'you'll get this illness or that problem', etc I think I have finally started to let it go over my head without getting upset about it. I know what I believe in and that is enough for me. I'm not a 'preachy vegan'. I am open to questions about it if people are actually curious or even interested in becoming vegan but tend to ignore the people who want to get into an argument with me, I know that there is no point in getting involved as they will never change their view on things, which is very sad but true.

I hope one day something will change and that people will actually think about what they are eating and/or wearing. I know it's slowly changing as when I was young their was hardly anywhere we could eat out but now their seems to be more and more vegan friendly places to eat and more awareness of what is going on. There will always be some people who don't give a damn, but hopefully that they will be only a small percentage of society instead of the majority.

My finance is now a vegetarian, he was a meat eater when I met him but I cooked him a vegan meal and he said it was so good even without the meat. He realised soon after that there was no need for him to eat meat and that he would slowly make the change to being vegan. He has cut down on a lot of his dairy intake and he is in the process of sorting through his clothes. Hopefully he'll have the strength to carry on even with all he comments and questions he'll get whenever he meets up with his friends

We are having a baby and we are currently looking into how to raise the vegetarian and hopefully even vegan. I am looking through books and asking my mum loads of questions about how best to do it. I have to admit that I'm rather scared. I have wanted a baby for as long as I can remember and I'm not as strong as my mum is, I don't want lots of people criticising my mothering skills. I know it'll probably be fine, but I am worried about it.

So that is my story, it did turn into a bit of a rant, sorry about that...

Re: Your personal vegan story

^Wow, your story is neat. Generations of vegans. I hope you're able to raise your baby vegan. Have you read Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis and Vessanto Melina? There's a chapter in there on being pregnant and vegan and raising vegan kids. I thought the information was good, but I'm not pregnant and don't have any children.

Re: Your personal vegan story

I haven't read that book yet. Thanks for letting me know about it, it sounds just like what I need to read. I have a great book on nutrition that my mum swore by when I was young but it's a bit old now and the pages are falling out! So I need a new book.

Re: Your personal vegan story

That's a really amazing story! Like you I have vegan parents, (I converted them :P) and they are currently raising my little sister vegan. I understand the pressure that you will be under. Just stand your ground and do what you know is right in your heart. When me and my partner have children (most likely be adopting) they will also be raised vegan.

The taste of anything in my mouth for 5 seconds does not equate to the beauty and complexity of life.

Re: Your personal vegan story

Brilliant! Thanks Wendy

Emzy1985: It's great that you converted your parents. I know it'll be fine to raise children vegan and when I read some more books I'll be happier and more confident about it. I know I'll have to fight many doctors along the way though.

Rainbow: I know I was very lucky with the parents I have. I'm very happy and thankful about how they raised me. I did get terribly bullied at school about it though and hopefully by the time my child goes to school things will have changed as I really don't want them to be bullied.

Re: Your personal vegan story

I got bullied too, so I understand. I was vegetarian until I was 11, then vegan. I got teased even for being vegetarian, because this was twenty years ago and was still very much the exception to the rule. When I went vegan, I was the only vegan I knew, and in my immaturity I was rather preachy about it. That certainly didn't win me any friends! But having been through these things ourselves, learned how to develop coping strategies and how best to relate to other people and their negative attitudes, we can guide our own children through it. Unless your mother was a vegan while still at school, she may have had only sympathy to offer. You will be able to offer your child more concrete practical advice on how to handle such situations.
Also, while kids may pick on someone for being vegan, they may equally pick on someone for being clever, stupid, fat, thin, tall, short, red-headed, bespectacled, smelly, spotty, gangly, voluptuous, flat-chested, shabby, posh, promiscuous, celibate, or anything else that isn't considered sufficiently "normal". As very few kids are lucky enough to be entirely "normal", chances are that most kids will get picked on at some point. Teaching a child how to address such situations with humour, diplomacy and an appreciation of their intrinsic self-worth is far more valuable than just hoping that they will fit in, and I am sure you will be better placed than most parents to do just that.

Re: Your personal vegan story

I know I'm bringing up an older thread, but I'm new and wanted to tell my story

I have been a huge animal lover my entire life, but I never really connected my love for animals and the fact that I consumed them on a daily basis. When I was a freshman in high school I was at McDonalds with some friends and one of them asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. As I was chomping on my hamburger, I said "an animal rights activist". The irony hit me like a sledgehammer. I threw out the rest of my burger and became a vegetarian then and there. Because I was in high school and didn't have the support of my family at the time, I only last a year as a vegetarian, I wasn't eating well at all and became sick. I added chicken and fish back into my diet (haven't touched beef since that day though).

As I got older, I really started to think about what eating meat meant and I toyed with the thought of going vegetarian again. Along the way I made friends with a few vegans and thought there was no way I could ever do that. If giving up chicken again would be hard, giving up dairy would be impossible. But the thought stewed in the back of my head for years.

I had gotten to a place in my life where I was eating like complete crap for convenience, a lot of fast food, sweets, junk in general and I felt like crap. I decided it was time to jump in feet first and try vegan. I challenged myself to go completely vegan for one week and see how I felt. With the help of my vegan friends I armed myself with some awesome recipes and stocked up my kitchen with vegan food. I ate more delicious food that week than I expected. Everything I made tasted awesome and at the end of the week I didn't miss the meat or dairy in my diet, so I decided to make it stick. Also during that week I read The Kind Diet which opened my eyes to the horrors of the meat and dairy industry (like many others, I believed the whole "happy cows" bull from the dairy commercials) and what it does to our bodies. This knowledge solidified my choice and I have stuck with it now for a little over two months and I have never felt better in my life.

Re: Your personal vegan story

Ok, I was directed here by pat sommer so here’s my story!I remember being around 11 and having a day off school, My mother used to work as a courier so I’d gone along with her this day. One of the places she had to drop something off was the local abattoir.I remember sitting in the car waiting for her to come back and looking at the sheep beyond the fence line. That was the first time it hit me that I shouldn’t be eating them.From then began my journey, I went vegetarian but didn’t do it properly; I was very young and basically just ate what my family was having sans meat. This meant that I was not getting full enough or satisfied enough and I gave it up thinking it was too hard.When I was around 15 I decided I would give it another go.This time I lasted.At around 21 I went vegan and lasted for around 6 months but again gave up as it was “too hard”.I had, however, felt great the whole time I was doing it but being that age I was going out a lot and could never find anything to eat. So I went back to being veggie.The whole time I was vegetarian I felt like I was a hypocrite, how could I not eat their meat but then use them for so many other things? I attended duck shooting protests and many other causes to do with animal lib but was still wearing wool, eating cheese etc.What flipped me over the edge was watching “Earthlings”. I’m sure it’s a cliché story, but it’s true JI cried for the whole thing. I sat there bawling my eyes out feeling like the worst thing in the world, repeating how sorry I was over and over as if they could hear me. It was worse than any horror movie I had seen; I was actually gasping out loud and had to fight the urge to just turn it off.So there it is. My story. I still feel immense guilt about having eaten and used animals for clothing in the past but all I can do is live well now.My little brother went vegetarian for a month as a birthday present for me when he was around 17, 5 years later he is still vegetarian and the only other animal product he eats is cheese and I reckon I can get him off that as well.My husband is an omnivore, but since we have been together his meat consumption has decreased greatly and I’m only a pinch away from convincing him to try going veggie for a month, vegan is too much for him at the minute, but one step at a time….Now my main struggle is trying to understand how other people don’t feel this same guilt, yes I ate eggs and milk and cheese, but I always felt wrong doing it. Why don’t others feel this way?

Re: Your personal vegan story

about a year and a half ago i was living in a really bad situation. i had barely dragged myself through school and was on academic probation. i was overweight and depressed as well. i did nothing but eat, sleep, smoke , and drink. my roommate was the same way. i couldn't care less about myself or my health. i don't know what made me do it, but one day i just decided that i had had enough. i started eating healthier ( or what i thought was healthier at the time) and exercising. all of the sudden i felt more motivated. my brain's ability to function increased. i did better in school (last semester i got my scholarship back), lost weight, and quit my bad habits. over the school year i ate meat less and less without really noticing. i began trying alternatives to milk and cheese. unfortunately my roommate didn't follow suit. she downward spiraled until she quit school and her job and went to rehab. this sounds like an awful thing to say but i was relieved. i could finally focus fully on myself and my health and not take care of her all the time ( she is 7 months sober now by the way and is back in school). when she left i got my own place. this allowed me to really work on self improvement. i became addicted to yoga and healthy food. meat and dairy were very rarely in my kitchen. then i started watching documentaries about the food industry and america's health problems ( after which i then read a few books). i realized that i basically already ate a vegan diet. so i switched completely. i couldn't stand knowing all of the horrible issues meat, dairy, and eggs caused both for animals and for humans. it has been about a month now and i am loving it. i feel and look great. i think i might be inspiring my sister to make similar changes in her diet. lets hope she does! then we will have another great story.

Re: Your personal vegan story

Time for my Vegan story, i can't promise it will be interesting or full of any adventure or whimsy sadly

Since i was old enough (i imagine about 4 or 5) to make it clear what i wanted and didn't want to eat i simply never had an interest in eating meat and i was for the most part a Vegetarian i would occasionally eating crisps with meat flavourings, the fact i did that makes me kinda angry with myself, but hey it's in the past now.

In 2009 i suffered some health issues and the symptoms were an increased heart rate and discomfort in the chest area and this was eventually diagnosed as being due to severe acid reflux and it was this moment in my life that made me think a lot and not just about my diet. Around this time i was drinking milkshakes fairly regularly and pumping myself full of Luzozade (sports drink, to get me through work) and i believe this caused some of my health issues.

From 2006/7 onwards i had began opening my mind more to a lot of things and by 2010 i had made a lot of new friends both on and offline and a few of these were Vegan and until that point i hadn't really ever met anyone who was Vegan (or at least they never mentioned it) so naturally my interest was peaked as i consider myself to be a very "peace and love" kinda guy so i looked into it and it seemed just logical for me to become a Vegan.

It was April 2011 when i became fully Vegan and i had great support from my Vegan friends and since i've been Vegan i've not wished or wanted for any products or foods that i may have enjoyed as Vegetarian, which to be honest wasn't much anyway as i rarely consumed Dairy. I feel in a way i was destined to be a Vegan as in recent years i have grown as a person while all around me at my age are settling down and towing the line society has laid out for them to follow.

I do also believe i would of gone Vegan at a much earlier age if i had been exposed to it sooner or just of been educated better, i don't think in my whole time at school Veganism was mentioned by either a teacher or a fellow student.

I also believe the area i grow up while nice enough and full of friendly people (well some), it isn't a place for aspiring people it seems, very much a run of the mill place where people do as they're told and don't want to stand out as being different. All men around my age will spend their time talking about football (soccer), ogling women and stuffing their faces with whatever food they can access, normally meat and that lifestyle just seems empty, boring and wrong.

I've not met anyone with any real hopes or dreams or with a similar attitude to life as my own within my own town and am keen to meet more Vegans and spread the word of Veganism.

Re: Your personal vegan story

I decided I wanted to be a vegetarian when I was 15, when I could not justify eating meat just because someone else from an industry had slaughtered, skinned and prepared it for me. I did not feel comfortable being a hypocrite. I considered myself fortunate enough to have seen, first-hand, what happened to animals on factory farms, which only enforced my discontent with eating meat.
Even though I intially started off as vegetarian, I did not consume much dairy, due to intolerance, so I became vegan for two reasons. Over time, my body seemed to reject dairy products more and more, and during that time, I also looked more into the truth in how dairy is processed and produced. Since I did not consume dairy very regularly anyway, I decided to adopt a vegan diet and have been feeling the benefits ever since.

I have obviously become a lot more aware of things, one of the main eye-openers for me was watching Earthlings. As disturbing and upsetting as it was (and is), I also learned a lot more, which has only compelled me to continue and maintain this lifestyle.

Re: Your personal vegan story

Up until the age of 18, I was happily omnivorous. I ate little red meat but I loved fish, poultry, and dairy. Eggs tended to make me ill (if I ate too many, my kidneys couldn't seem to cope), but I enjoyed them nonetheless.

When I got to college, there was this tutor whom I had a huge crush on. She was sweet and articulate and because I was an awfully awkward teen, she took me under her wing. I found out that she was vegetarian, and when she explained the reasons behind her choice of diet, I fell hook, line and sinker. I went veggie and stayed that way for 8 months. My mum was supportive and my dad was all proud, like I was making some huge political statement (bless him).

The problem was, I was doing it for somebody else and not for myself. Other than my mother and father, my family and friends were quite anti-vegetarian, and every mealtime with them became a debate about vegetarianism. I left college and lost the support of that beautiful tutor. A few months later, just after I'd started university, I caved. After that, I was addicted to meat in all its forms: cured, smoked, fried, grilled - you name it, I ate it. I also LOVED cheese and when I eventually got pregnant, I craved milk like you wouldn't believe.

Then about 7 months ago, I watched an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, in which she explained her reasons for becoming vegan. She cited the documentary 'Earthlings' as her motivation. My curiosity was piqued, but I didn't want to make the same mistake as I had previously (i.e. I didn't want to go vegan because I was copying someone I admired). So after a few weeks of contemplating, I switched on the documentary with an open mind, just to see what would happen.

I was horrified. The images, the sounds, the screams - that documentary destroyed me. It also completely changed my life. I had been comforting myself with half-arsed arguments that just weren't true: 'free range' was a label that had little meaning and so-called 'kosher' food was nothing of the sort. The truth was - and is - that every animal suffers. Every animal lives and dies in fear and pain. And I had been taking their flesh and their bone and their tissue and their milk and putting it in my mouth, for no other reason than because it tasted good.

I have been vegan ever since. It was a tough transition, because everything in my life up until that point had been omni. My boyfriend's parents question me about my dietary choices every time I visit: they are convinced I'm going to die and drag my son down with me (and this is coming from a couple who drink a bottle of red wine every day and eat veal and venison in abundance!!!). But this time, it's different because I'm not questioning myself. I'm so happy with my decision and I feel so much cleaner and healthier being vegan. Making this choice and sticking to it has taught me to trust my own judgment: I've come out to my boyfriend as gay (a secret that has been tearing at me since I was 6 years old). We will be separating in the near future and I hope to bring my son up as vegan (at least when he's with me - my other half is steadfastly omni and won't hear of it).

Re: Your personal vegan story

Brilliant. I've been vegan over 14 years and going vegan is one of the best things I've ever done in my life. I eat so much more different food than ever before and I love the food I eat. I could never be anything but vegan. With all the vegan food you can buy these days you never 'miss out' and anyway 'missing out' on the odd foodstuff that isn't vegan is nothing compared to what an animal is put through via the meat/diary industries etc.

I went vegan when I was 22, I had tried to before that (I was vegetarian from aged 18) but moved to Germany and didn't have enough courage or enough knowledge to keep it up. When I moved back to the UK and lived with other vegans I quickly learn how easy it was and they were really inspiring.

I'll never forget when I was vegetarian and got a lift from a vegan guy one time and he asked me if I ate meat, I was really pleased with myself and answered that I was vegetarian and he looked at me and said 'Oh, you're half-way there then!'. I just had never considered that you could go further. I did and I have never looked back!

Veganism is going to take over the world (I hope!). For the sake of the animals and the environment.

Re: Your personal vegan story

Re: Your personal vegan story

Hello! I'm thrilled to find this community, as I am extremely new at this. I went vegetarian 3 weeks ago, switching to vegan a few days into it because I found that there is no such thing as 'cruelty free' dairy products. Interesting, when I asked friends to help me find some, they all asked, "What do you mean, 'cruelty free dairy'?". And these are not ignorant people, so the question surprised me.

With the Internet and my Kindle Fire, I've already downloaded several cookbooks and wonderful recipes. I find it is all much easier than I would have imagined, and even though I am not 'tried and true' yet, I am never going back. For many years I've wrestled with my conscience, feeling profoundly horrified by the treatment of animals on factory farms. I can no longer be a part of such a brutal, callous and indifferent system.

I love that this forum recognizes that veganism is so much more than nutritious. It's a way of being, of loving and respecting life in all of it's many forms. The health benefits are, for me, the side effects of doing what you know in your gut is RIGHT.

Like everyone else here, I am a true animal lover. Like a previous poster, I have had rats that I adored. I have had rabbits, a ferret, and of course cats and dogs. I currently have four cats and one dog. Veganism to me is the right thing to do for the animals, of course. But it's also about people. What does it do to people to treat animals the way that they are treated on factory farms? What does it mean about a people to blindly ignore such horrific suffering so that mouths can be stuffed with foods that aren't even good for you.

It's an insult to our integrity as a species, in my opinion. I would not say this in the general public for fear of hurting the cause of animal rights, but of course meat eating is wrong. We all know it here, and it's a relief to be able to say so bluntly.

Re: Your personal vegan story

I watched Earthlings one night in bed, the next day onwards i didn't eat meat. That was two years ago. To solidify it i fell in love with a one day old baby rooster, it thought i was its dad. It only lived one week but i was madly in love with him, So god dam cute. It was like a brain explosions in one night realising that animals no matter how small deserved equal rights to us, and that we were the ones that stuffed up the circle of life. We conquered the planet, but we tipped the scales and now we will all pay.

Re: Your personal vegan story

Re: Your personal vegan story

Another Earthlings convert here! I was looking for Joaquin Phoenix vids on you tube one night when I stumbled across the link for Earthlings. I wasn’t really concentrating, just clicked and watched…and watched…and watched. It was just so profoundly horrific - so utterly earth-shattering and uncompromising in it’s message - that it was like I’d suddenly snapped out of a life-long stupor and I could see things clearly for the first time. Honestly, it was as if Mr Phoenix had personally handed me the red pill and I was out of the matrix and into the real world, lol. Well that was about three weeks ago, and I haven’t looked back since. I can honestly say that it wasn’t so much a conversion to veganism as it was an outright epiphany - I can’t even look at meat, milk, eggs, etc, without feeling sick to my core.

I can’t believe how naive I was not to question the ethics of animal slavery. Never again.